5 Reasons Why You Should Become a Student Mentor
Chris Webb
Career Consultant at the University of Huddersfield
Hi! I'm Chris Webb, a Career Consultant working with the Careers & Employability Service at the University of Huddersfield. I currently support the School of Arts & Humanities and the School of Computing & Engineering to strategically embed career development and employability related activity into the academic curriculum and previously worked with the School of Business, Education and Law to pilot their Student 2 Graduate Mentoring Scheme, in partnership with a wide range of University of Huddersfield alumni and employer partners.
There’s plenty of evidence of the value of mentoring in and outside of the workplace but this doesn’t necessarily mean that all organisations invest in this activity. In focusing on the myriad benefits to businesses that come from mentoring and coaching schemes, it can be easy to skirt over how energising and valuable mentoring can be for the individuals involved, both from a mentee and mentor perspective.
If you’ve ever thought about sharing your insights, expertise and experience as a mentor, there’s no better time than now, as Huddersfield Business School prepares to recruit for the latest cohort of its Mentoring Scheme, providing an opportunity for mentors to meaningfully impact the lives of students completing their studies at the University of Huddersfield. But it’s not just about our mentees—in this blog, we’ll highlight 5 reasons why as well as making a difference to the lives of our students, becoming a mentor can benefit you as much as the individual you support...
1. Enhancing your own professional development
Many of our previous mentors on the scheme have reflected how beneficial participating in the scheme was for their own continuing professional development (CPD), particularly in terms of developing or refining mentoring and coaching skills they were then able to take back and apply in their respective workplaces.
As part of the scheme, mentors are provided with useful resources about the 'Coaching Approach to Mentoring', ideas from which a number of our previous mentors have subsequently used within CPD sessions in their own settings.
The Mentoring Scheme has provided an excellent opportunity to engage with our emerging graduate talent as they prepare to enter the workplace. The programme also helped me develop my formal mentoring skills. The pre-sessions were extremely helpful - focussing on listening skills, the difference between coaching and mentoring, and the boundaries for a successful engagement.
Helen Curtis - Founder and Director of Coterie Marketing
2. An opportunity to reflect on your own career
The CMI define mentoring as:
"…a relationship in which one person (the mentor) – who is usually more experienced and often more senior – supports another (the mentee) with regular guidance, feedback and confidential discussion, so that he or she can become more self-aware, knowledgeable and confident, and develop their potential and capability."
This relationship naturally gives you as a mentor the opportunity to reflect on your own career journey to date, something that our previous mentors have found to be of great benefit, both in terms of identifying skills they wanted to develop as a result of their mentoring experience and also having time and space to think about their own career and what they might want this to look like in the future.
The process has been super useful both personally and professionally. I have loved seeing my mentee's confidence grow. Not only did we focus our time on applying for roles but we also looked at how we can build personal soft skills. I have seen a difference in myself in how I approach situations and how to have more empathy with graduates within my role.
Beth Mapp - Project Manager at Yorkshire Water
3. Staying plugged into early career trends
As a mentor, you may well be responsible in your own organisation for the recruitment, onboarding and/or supervision of early career employees, such as graduates. Taking part in the Mentoring Scheme can help you gain a more in-depth perspective on the experiences of current students and the challenges they face in relation to their career development, providing valuable insights that can support your approach to working with this cohort of individuals now and in the future, particularly if you have a responsibility for attracting and retaining early career talent within your business.
I got a lot from the scheme, keeping myself in touch with the current graduate market is essential from both a personal and professional point of view as an employer of local talent. Equally, I benefited from being able to develop my own coaching and mentoring skills, as well as developing my network further. I believe the scheme provides significant benefits to students when preparing to enter the world of work.
Sam Wood - Platform Transition Lead at Lloyds Banking Group
4. Talent spotting and joining the dots
Your ability as a mentor to act as a conduit to networking and employment opportunities can benefit you as well as your mentee.
A number of our previous mentors have supported their mentees to access interviews and internship/graduate job opportunities via their network of contacts, strengthening existing business relationships and enhancing their credibility in identifying high-quality graduate talent.
Some of our mentor-mentee partnerships have even led to collaborations and knowledge sharing that have benefited mentor businesses, showcasing the two-way value that can emerge from these relationships over time!
The Mentoring Scheme provides a fantastic opportunity to help students approach and enter the workplace. After meeting my mentee, I learned about their aspirations for a career in finance and immediately thought I could help; given my experience within the sector. I introduced my mentee to several firms, one of which offered them the position of a Trainee Chartered Accountant after a successful interview!
James Clarkson - Chief Executive Officer at ADVENTORIS
5. Growing your own network
As a busy professional, finding time to connect with other businesses and fellow professionals in and outside of your industry can be challenging. The Mentoring Scheme provides mentors with a platform to network with a range of individuals from different sectors (many of whom are University of Huddersfield alumni), creating opportunities for collaboration, sharing business-related ideas and building a community of like-minded professionals. Many of our mentors have stayed connected with the University, their mentees and each other following their participation in the Mentoring Scheme, whether they have been local to Huddersfield or participating in the programme from further afield!
Get involved!
Find our more about the Mentoring Scheme at https://www.hud.ac.uk/about/schools/huddersfield-business-school/business-support-and-professional-development/student-engagement/mentoring_scheme/
You can also get in touch with the Stakeholder Engagement team at sbel-set@hud.ac.uk
